Last week (April 8th to be exact) we decided to take a run out around the townships, more just to get out for a while and away from the house.  The newspaper had reported rising waters around Lake St. John and the Black River, so we went to have a look.

Some areas were pretty bad…a few places crossing a bridge made you feel a little nervous since the water was almost cresting the sides of the bridge. A few more inches and the water would be running across the road. In others, ditches were full to overflowing, lake water had risen to cover docks, planters, boat trailers and winches. In a few places we noticed boats that had been pulled up onto docks for winter storage were now floating free in the water.

Areas that are normally “land” had become lakes and rivers. At one spot we stopped for a moment and I snapped a couple of pictures – these pictures you’ll see below…they are not a lake or pond. They normally are farm fields and dry property. You can click the smaller image to see the full view.

The other thing I did last week was go for a walk to the hilltop behind us to have a look at how the construction is going. New houses and small subdivisions are still being built out here at Westridge. At the “top” of the hill, there is a park which has turned out to be quite nice. There is a good playground area for kids that includes a water feature, enclosed “dog” parks, paved pathway for walking or jogging, some new trees and small hilly slopes for resting or having a picnic. This is a “neighbourhood” park. Not “gigantic” by any means, it is still somewhat larger than a number of other neighbourhood parks. In the summer, with the water feature going and the park full of laughing children it will be a lovely place.

And yes, construction is still going on. I wonder how much more farmlands and greenbelt will be turned into housing?